Freeway faceoff goes to 7th game

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Trevor Lewis scored his fourth goal of the postseason, Jonathan Quick made 21 saves, and the Los Angeles Kings forced a seventh game in the Freeway Faceoff series with a 2-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks in Game 6 on Wednesday night.Jake Muzzin scored an early goal for the Kings, who ended their three-game skid with another sturdy defensive effort at home.Los Angeles improved to 6-1 in postseason elimination games over the last two seasons while beating Ducks goalie John Gibson for the first time in his six-game NHL career.Kyle Palmieri scored and Gibson stopped 21 shots for the top-seeded Ducks, who missed the chance to clinch their first trip to the Western Conference finals since 2007.Game 7 is Friday night at Honda Center.The Southern California rivals’ scintillating first postseason meeting is the NHL’s only second-round series still going. The winner faces the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks, who will have at least four days off before the conference finals open.The Kings again proved their postseason credentials are unassailable after winning a Stanley Cup title in 2012 and returning to the conference finals last year. Responding to Anaheim’s three straight wins with calm, intelligent defense, Los Angeles forced its second seven-game series of this postseason after rallying from an 0-3 deficit in the first round to stun San Jose.Canadiens beat Bruins 3-1 in Game 7 to advanceBOSTON (AP) — Even as the Montreal Canadiens swept through the opening round of the playoffs — their first postseason series victory in four years — they knew that a more difficult challenge was next.The Boston Bruins. Their Original Six rival. The defending Eastern Conference champions and the NHL’s top team in the regular season.“That’s our measuring stick,” forward Max Pacioretty said after the Canadiens beat the Bruins 3-1 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Wednesday night. “There’s always been that rivalry, and that bad feeling between Boston and Montreal. Not just between the cities, but in the rooms, too.”Pacioretty scored the winner, and Carey Price made 29 saves to give the Canadiens a spot in the conference finals against the New York Rangers. Game 1 will be in Montreal on Saturday, with the rest of the schedule to be announced.It’s just the second time since winning their NHL-best 24th Stanley Cup title in 1993 that the Canadiens have reached the third round of the playoffs.